The CUNY Law School graduate behind May’s fiery commencement address made clear she wouldn’t change a word of her widely condemned remarks that took aim at Israel — and said she was shocked by the immense backlash that followed.
In her first public comments since the firestorm erupted after her May 12 speech, Fatima Mohammed told Jewish Currents she has no regrets after accusing Israel of indiscriminately murdering Palestinians and calling the NYPD “fascists.”
Her speech garnered condemnation from elected officials, including NYC Mayor Eric Adams, and even earned a rebuke by the school’s leaders and board of trustees, which called the address “hate speech.”
“I would not change a single word of my speech — and I would say it louder,” she declared Tuesday.
Mohammed said she was caught off guard over the CUNY board’s belated condemnation of her — and never anticipated how loud the anger would grow against the speech.
“As a student organizer, I understand that there are powers that dedicate time, energy, and resources into stifling student activism on campus, because of how powerful it is — students have historically led revolutions,” she told the outlet.
“I would not change a single word of my speech — and I would say it louder.”
CUNY Law grad Fatima Mohammed
“However, I could not have anticipated the escalation and the scale of the campaign that I was subjected to.
“I did not think that CUNY would come out and say that my speech, which was approved by CUNY Law, was ‘hate speech.’”
Among her fiery remarks to fellow grads, Mohammed accused Israel of encouraging “lynch mobs” and carrying out violence against Palestinians.
“Israel continues to indiscriminately rain bullets and bombs on worshipers, murdering the old, the young, attacking even funerals and graveyards… our silence is no longer acceptable,” she said.
Mohammed additionally slammed CUNY for continuing “to train and cooperate with the fascist NYPD, the military” during her speech, and called for a “revolution” against the legal system’s “white supremacy.”
She told Jewish Currents she’s faced harassment that’s been “overwhelming” for her and her family ahead of the bar exam.
“We worried for our safety. I was trying to study for the bar exam while getting comments like, “I can’t wait until we’re at your funeral” and ‘I would pay to see you get killed,’” she said.
She blamed the backlash on an attempt to “stifle, censor, and intimidate” her and other Palestinian activists.
Her speech led to intense scrutiny directed at CUNY, with state GOP lawmakers calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to withhold taxpayer funds from the public school.
Jewish advocacy groups requested the Internal Revenue Service investigate whether CUNY should keep its non-profit status, alleging it has possibly engaged in political or lobbying activities tied to past actions taken at the school that are against Israel.
But some organizations have stood by Mohammed’s speech, such as the Professional Staff Congress, which represents CUNY Law faculty, arguing the board was wrong to mislabel the commencement address as hate speech.
Mohammed told Jewish Currents this week the support she’s received from groups and activists “has kept me on my feet.”
“That support has given me a lot of motivation and conviction to carry on,” she added.
